


A Despair Inducing School Trip- A Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Rewrite

by washer_and_briar



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Angst, Aroace Imposter, Asexual Pekoyama Peko, Bisexual Hanamura Teruteru, Bisexual Mioda Ibuki, Bisexual Soda Kazuichi, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Gay Hinata Hajime, Gay Komaeda Nagito, Gay Tanaka Gundham, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Komaeda Nagito Being Komaeda Nagito, Lesbian Koizumi Mahiru, Lesbian Tsumiki Mikan, M/M, Multi, Non-Canonical Character Death, Pansexual Saionji Hiyoko
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:35:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27996876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/washer_and_briar/pseuds/washer_and_briar
Summary: Hajime Hinata is a student at Hope’s Peak Academy. Suddenly, he and the rest of his class find themselves on Jabberwock Island for the heart-throbbing school trip. Unfortunately, when Monokuma appears, it turns into a killing school trip and deadly life begins. Class 77 collectively navigates friendships, romance, and- of course- frequent murder.(Check chapter one notes for a more thorough explanation)
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito, Koizumi Mahiru/Saionji Hiyoko, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko/Pekoyama Peko, Mioda Ibuki/Tsumiki Mikan, Naegi Makoto/Togami Byakuya, Nidai Nekomaru/Owari Akane, Soda Kazuichi/Tanaka Gundham, Sonia Nevermind/Tanaka Gundham
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	A Despair Inducing School Trip- A Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Rewrite

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for choosing to read this, first of all, but now onto some things that should probably be stated so I don't end up misleading you with the tags. This isn't necessarily a fix-it fic, but it is a rewrite and almost every death has been changed in some way or another and your favorite character will likely die. Although this fic is not canon-compliant, there are still some main series spoilers. In relation to not misleading you, particularly with ships, this fic is tagged with Sondam, but it is brief and not the endgame for either party involved. Also with ships, this is a gen fic, there are character relationships and even bonus chapters focussed entirely on those relationships, but they're easy to skip and will have no real plot significance other than changing how some characters interact with the group. But, if you're here to read about another killing game and you don't care about character relationships enough to read filler chapters focused on them entirely, feel free to skip any chapter labeled Free Time Event. There are also some ships tagged that are implied, but something happens (usually the death of one or both of them) that prevents them from being together, but they are close enough to being together that it would have made me feel bad not tagging it. I think that's all that needs to be said for now, but if I have any notes on specific chapters they will be, of course, before that chapter. This A/N is getting pretty long, though, so I hope you enjoy!

“Hey…” a disembodied voice said to me. It sounded male, but it was hard to tell without being able to see, “can you hear me?” they asked after a beat of silence. I blinked my eyes open, briefly being blinded by the sun before the face came into vision. He was pale, green-gray eyes staring into my own, with messy white hair and reddish-brown roots visible near his neck. “Are you okay?” he asked, “You seem pretty out of it. To be honest, I’m also… No, everyone feels the same too. Since we suddenly… got put in this weird situation.” he frowned slightly, probably noticing that I wasn’t fully paying attention while I tried to figure out what was happening. “...Hey, are you listening?” crap, he had caught me.

_I don’t understand_

_Why am I here..?_

…

What happened? I should try to remember that first. Thinking hard, the fragments of memories began to piece themselves together.

That day… It was special to me. It felt it was what my life has been building to. Hope’s Peak Academy. That place was much more than a school to me. The kids who play baseball will long to join the major leagues. The kids who play soccer will hope to join a rep team. That’s how I felt about Hope’s Peak.

Hope’s Peak is a government-funded school for the privileged elite of society. Unlike other schools, there isn’t an entrance exam. To get into Hope’s Peak, you need to be scouted by the school itself. There are two requirements to attend Hope’s Peak. First, you must already attend high school, and second, you must be the very best in your field. It doesn’t matter what you do, but you must be the best at it. These students are called Ultimates. It’s said that these Ultimates are set for life, with guaranteed success. Often referred to as the symbols of hope. Providing the world with some of its top leaders, the school earns its title as the Academy of Hope.

Although I attend this school, my circumstances are a bit different from those of my peers, however, that isn’t too important, I suppose. Anyway, I guess I should introduce myself. Not that I’m so special I need to introduce myself, and formalities are always a little embarrassing… Well, this is to be expected… I guess that’s how I should think about it.

_My name is **Hajime Hinata.**_

_~~~_

Hajime came to Hope’s Peak for one reason: because he admired the school. To him, attending the school was like being a celebrity or a superhero. He supposed a dream would be a more accurate statement than mere admiration. For that reason, he always wanted to… he always wanted to…

_Huh…?_

_...What’s this?_

_A door…_

As he walked towards the door, it became clear it was a classroom door. He was no longer in front of Hope’s Peak. Hajime was standing in a field of empty blackness, nothing but the door in front of him. Hesitantly, he walked up to the door and opened it. It was a classroom, as expected. It was full of students, most of their Ultimates visible before even speaking to them. “Who goes there, mortal?” a deep voice asked. He didn’t know what to say.

“Um…”

“Are you alright? You look quite pale,” a girl with messy purple hair asked, running over to him and pressed a hand to his cheek.

“Ah, um-” He tried to reply but was cut off by the original deep voice.

“Could it be… You too are a first-year..?” Ah, so that means… They really are all Ultimates.

A large man in a white suit replied to him, not giving Hajime the chance, “I assume... that first years such as ourselves have been gathered here…”

A girl with short red hair and freckles looked up at him, and seemed to take notice of something, “Why don’t you come in for now?” Oh, right. He had been so caught up in the rush of adrenaline that came with meeting the other fifteen Ultimates that he hadn’t entered.

“Oh, um, right,” He walked in, slightly flustered, sitting on a desk next to a girl with long and messy black hair with bangs dyed pink and blue, styled almost horn-like. _Why am I so nervous? Sure, they’re Ultimates, but we’re in the same class. First impressions are key, I need to be more confident. I’m just as worthy of being here as everyone else._

 _What was going on, anyway?_ Hajime had gotten so caught up in the moment he had yet to consider the absurdity of it all. He was standing in front of the academy, then he was surrounded by darkness with a door before him? That was undoubtedly strange. Snapping himself back to the present, he looked back to the group, “Um, excuse me?”

The man in the white suit from earlier was the one to address him, “What?” he glared at Hajime, he wasn’t sure if he was doing it on purpose or not, but it was intimidating.

“Why are we all gathered here in a classroom? No one has addressed that yet, and I was just wondering…” Hajime trailed off, so much for confidence…

“We were just about to discuss that,” he said very matter-of-factly. _Discuss… so even they don’t know…_ “Well, since you’re the last to arrive, let’s begin.” the girl he had sat down next to spoke after that,

“Eh, is this everyone? How do you know?” she asked the man who was originally speaking. He had to admit, it was a valid question.

“There are sixteen desks in this classroom, and this student,” he pointed at Hajime, “is the sixteenth student. It’s rather obvious if you bother to think about it,” he smirked and pushed his rectangular glasses up as he spoke.

The girl pouted for a moment, upset at her intelligence being insulted, but she quickly perked back up.

“Okay!” she called out cheerfully, throwing a peace sign over her left eye.

He rolled his eyes, annoyed with the girl, and asked the group, “Firstly, we need to clear some things up. Does anyone actually remember how they got to the classroom?” Silence met his question, “As I thought. With none of us aware of how we ended up in this classroom alongside everyone else,” he stated, “interesting. No matter how this situation is viewed, you must admit that it’s unnatural,” many of the students nodded in agreement.

The girl with red hair from earlier was the one to reply to him, “Yeah, it’s definitely strange.”

He brushed off her reply, seeming to think he was better than his peers, “If I am correct, which I likely am, you all stepped on to campus, experienced inexplicable dizziness, then found yourself here, no?” Nobody seemed to have any objections.

“Yeah, that’s what happened to me…” Hajime replied, seeing as the man looked to be expecting one.

“Y-yeah, same here,” said a short man with a pompadour.

“Th-that dizziness wasn’t just me?!” said the girl with choppy purple hair. Her voice was timid and quiet.

“Everyone felt that too!?” a boy with fuschia hair asked, startled and trembling, he looked like he might cry.

The timid girl spoke again, “e-even if it’s just coincidence... th-that feels too good to be true…”

The large man with glasses nodded, “So you’re implying that it isn’t a coincidence then.”

More and more people joined in the conversation, trying to figure out how to deduce who brought them to this room. A short girl with bobbed hair broke the debate. Her voice was soft as she spoke, “maybe, rather than trying to figure out why we’re here, we should try to figure out why we can’t leave?”

“Huh? Whaddaya mean we can’t leave?” asked a girl with tan skin, wearing a small skirt and a shirt unbuttoned and tight, her outfit left little to the imagination- although Hajime frankly wasn’t too keen on imagining her.

“Seriously!?” the boy with fuschia hair yelled, it was then that Hajime noticed his sharp teeth, he made a note to ask about them later. The boy ran over to the door and tried to pull it open. It clattered loudly as he tried to pull it open, unsuccessfully. The short boy in the chef’s outfit and the freckled girl with red hair both ran over and tried to pull the door open with him.

A burly man who looked like an adult was the next to speak, surely he had to be a high schooler like the rest of them, but he didn’t look it, “I tried to leave to take a shit earlier… even I couldn’t open it…” He looked so serious saying it, and maybe it was just him being an immature teenage boy, but Hajime had to stifle a laugh.

“What do you mean you couldn’t get it open?” a blonde girl said. If he hadn’t known better, Hajime would have thought that she was a middle schooler. She spoke with a bratty tone of voice, but from what Hajime could tell, that was just how she spoke all the time.

The man looked taken aback by her statement, but he bounced back quickly, “No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t open the door.”

The girl rolled her eyes, “But that’s impossible!” It took Hajime a moment to realize, but she was right.

“Wait, yeah. That’s impossible! I came in through that door a few minutes ago, and it opened just fine! It wasn’t locked at all…”

A girl with two silver braids and a sword slung over her shoulder replied, “though the circumstances are strange and inconsistent, we can say with no doubt that we’ve been locked in this room.”

“M-maybe it’s a misunderstanding of some sort…?” Hajime asked, he didn’t believe it himself, but he’d rather have false hope than none at all.

“Or maybe,” a boy with messy white hair, wearing an oversized green hoodie started, “would it not make sense that this is an entrance exam?” Hajime hadn’t noticed him before, but now he couldn't stop looking, there was just something captivating about him.

“Entrance exam?” a girl with long blonde hair with a sparkly black bow in it asked, likely hoping he’d expand upon the idea. Hajime didn’t want to admit it, but he wasn’t sure what the pale stranger was saying, anyway. The girl continued, “But, according to Hope’s Peak Academy, such an exam does not exist.” A few of the Ultimates nodded in agreement.

The boy in the hoodie spoke again, Hajime noticed his pocket chain as he did so, “Maybe that’s what they say publicly, but wouldn’t it make more sense that a school as elite as Hope’s Peak would have some sort of special entrance exam.” The room filled with gasps, before everyone started nervously looking around. No one wanted to admit it, but it wasn’t likely he was wrong.

“Ah, no, that’s wrong!” a high-pitched voice broke the silence. A few of the Ultimates jumped at the noise, but most just looked mildly startled. The voice continued, “This isn’t an entrance exam!” People began looking around for the source of the voice.

“The fuck was that!?” a short boy with blond hair and freckles asked; his voice and the way he spoke didn’t suit his appearance. People began looking around for the source of the original voice. The short guy had apparently decided that the man with rectangular glasses was the source of the voice, because after a few moments of looking around he said, “Hey fatass! Why the fuck’d ya make that cutesy voice suddenly?”

The student the statement was directed at turned his head to face him, “Ignoring your blunt comment on my weight, I was not the source of the voice,”

“Who was it then?” the petite blonde girl said. She seemed annoyed.

“U-um, that was me, actually,” everyone’s eyes snapped to the source of the voice.

“The hell was that?” the man who had tried to leave earlier asked loudly. A girl with a small and pixelated hairpin and a bunny backpack pointed to the teacher’s podium.

“All right! I see that everyone has arrived. Let's begin!” the source of the voice finally showed itself in the form of a small, white, stuffed rabbit, “I am a squeezable soft stuffed animal. Magical Miracle Girl Usami! Or just Usami is fine too. I may not look it, but I’m your teacher! Nice to meet you all!” The class turned to look at each other, sharing confused glances, the common, yet unspoken, consensus amongst the group seemed to be along the lines of _Is this serious?_ No one spoke for a beat, taking in the information before them.

The short boy dressed as a cook was the one who broke the silence, “H-huh, am I hallucinating?” he asked.

The boy with sharpened teeth was the one to reply, “Nah, I see it too,” he seemed scared, which didn’t suit his appearance. Hajime was starting to notice that many of the students here had personalities that didn’t suit their appearances.

The supposed teacher continued, ignoring the surprise of her students, “I’m a loveable stuffed animal that’s fluffy and soft! That’s what I am, a singing, talking, dancing, rabbit mascot!”

“Um, hold on. Could you give us a moment to process?” Hajime asked.

“Okay!”

The cook spoke up yet again, “W-what do you guys think? I’ve never seen a talking, moving stuffed animal before. I don’t think any of us have”

The short blond boy replied, “It’s probably just remote controlled or something, don’t be a pussy about some kid's toy.”

The fuschia haired boy spoke up at that, “E-even so, it’s pretty lifelike. Hell, I don’t know if even I’d be able to make something like that. It looks pretty advanced for a kid’s toy,”

The large man replied, “How or what this thing is, isn’t what matters right now,” he pointed at Usami with conviction, “it would seem you are aware of our current predicament.”

“Well, how could I not be? I’m the lead teacher of this school trip!”

“School trip?” the girl with dyed bangs asked.

“A large group of students all go on a trip together, supervised by the lead teacher! It’s the biggest event of the school year!”

“We were not looking for a literal answer,” said the man in the white suit said. He seemed to have taken charge of the group.

Usami disregarded this reply and stated, “Now, let’s depart for the school trip!”

“D-depart?” Hajime sputtered out. _We just got to this school and we’re already going on a trip?_

Before anyone knew what was happening, the classroom walls fell around them to reveal blue skies and warm sands. It was completely unbelievable. None of the students would have believed it themselves, had it not happened right in front of them. They had gone from a Hope’s Peak classroom to a beach in a matter of moments. Regardless of how one looked at the situation, it was inexplicable. “W-What the hell is this?” Hajime yelled before he could stop himself. He, evidently, was not the only one startled.

The boy with fuschia hair became a stuttering mess before he finally sobbed, “What? This is a joke, right? ...Right!?” Hajime was doing a better job hiding his feelings, but this boy was doing a pretty good job showing what the former had been feeling by crying and shouting every time he spoke.

The girl with a horn-like hairstyle was the next to speak, “Where are we?” She seemed pretty freaked out but simultaneously calmer than most of the other students. The short girl with blonde pigtails burst into tears, for how rude she was being earlier, this behavior was surprising to Hajime.

“No need to worry, everyone!” Usami called out to the group, the cheerful tone feeling wrong to use on a group of terrified teenagers, “Take a look around you! There’s no need to panic! See? Look at the ocean, can’t you just feel all of your troubles washing away?”

The girl with twin braids and swords turned and glared at Usami and spoke, just as the others had just started relaxing, “Hold on, give us the details. Where exactly are we?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? We’re out where it’s better; out where it’s wetter! Out by the sea!”

“Well, no shit!” yelled the small and bratty girl. Her yelling seemed to startle the girl with choppy violet bangs. Thinking back, many things seemed to startle her.

The blond, freckled boy seemed to agree with this statement, “That much is fuckin obvious. Where the hell are we, specifically? I mean, we were in a classroom now we’re ‘out by the sea,’” he quoted Usami’s words mockingly, “shit doesn’t make any fuckin sense.”

The rabbit nodded as if the situation needn’t an explanation. “Please don’t worry! The school trip has only just begun!” She planted her wand in the sand as if doing so would finalize the statement.

“But, like, why the school trip suddenly?” the girl with dyed bangs and horns asked, Hajime finally noticed how tattered all of her accessories were, but it looked intentional, “We, like, skipped all the fun stuff that comes before that! Ibuki doesn’t understand!” _...Ibuki? Was she speaking in the third person, or does she know someone else here from middle school or something?_

Hajime pushed that thought aside, and instead decided it had been too long since he contributed to this conversation, “Ah, she- she’s right. We’re supposed to be attending Hope’s Peak.”

“Hope’s Peak, I see, I see… You guys are feeling unsure about Hope’s Peak. Well, in that case, just forget about Hope’s Peak! That’s why we’re having this school trip in the first place!”

Hajime stumbled back, his feet moving without his consent. A few gasped. Many just gaped and blinked in shock. “The fuck d’ya mean ‘forget about Hope’s Peak?’” The small and angry freckled boy yelled.

“You,” the man in the white suit started, pointing at Usami, “what are you scheming at?”

The rabbit seemed startled, “Wh-wha-wha- What!?” she yelled, “I’m not scheming anything! I’m doing this for the sake of everyone here! I truly hope, sincerely, that hope will grow in everyone’s heart! This island is completely safe! So, please, there is no need to worry!”

The boy with unkempt white hair was standing behind Hajime, but the latter hadn’t noticed until the boy was practically resting his chin on his shoulder whispering to him, “Island..? You also heard her say island, right?” Hajime jumped in surprise but nodded.

He whispered back, “Yeah, I heard that,” he was going to continue but was cut off by a deep voice.

“Island, you say? What a clever way to allude to such a thing…” the eyebrowless man trailed off. He was… eccentric-looking, to say the least. Hajime could only guess what his Ultimate may be because there were no clear physical indicators of him being anything other than a dramatic goth.

“Yup! And it’s certainly beautiful too! This island has been prepared just for us, away from danger and other people!”

“Did you just say this island is completely uninhabited?” Hajime asked hesitantly.

The pale boy behind Hajime took a step out from behind him, although he could be seen easily, anyway, being about three inches taller than Hajime. His long green jacket swung behind him as he stepped.

“Perhaps…” the boy started, “you’ve brought us to this island to make us kill each other,” he spoke calmly, despite how uncomfortable the words he spoke were. It sounded impossible, but so did all other events Hajime had experienced since stepping foot into Hope’s Peak Academy, so maybe it wasn’t so impossible.

Thankfully, the lead teacher seemed immediately opposed to it, “Nuh-uh! No way! Things like violence or inflicting pain are big no-nos on this island! Even just saying the word kill makes me shudder,” she paused and shuddered dramatically, trying to emphasize her point, “Kyaaa! So scary!” Hajime sighed. If this is how she is the entire time, this is going to be a long school trip. The group relaxed a little, comforted by the fact that at least they weren’t in any physical danger.

“Then why dare summon the Supreme Overlord of Ice to this island?” All other Ultimates turned to the student.

“...Pardon?” The large man in the white suit asked. The rest of the group seemed to agree that the question was necessary. All except one.

Before the pale and eyebrowless man had the chance to answer for himself, the girl with waist-length blonde hair, adorned with a sparkly black bow, answered for him, “I believe he meant to ask why we’re here,” he nodded. Is he the Supreme Overlord of Ice? Hajime supposed that it made sense for the Ultimates to have powerful personalities, but it didn’t make it any less jarring when his classmates referred to themselves in cryptic third-person phrasing.

“All righty! The main rule for this heart-throbbing school trip is to spend these peaceful, relaxing, days nourishing hope. Enjoy yourselves, free from the pain and suffering of the rest of the world. Truly, this lovey-dovey heart-throbbing school trip is… everyone’s homework!”

“What does that even mean?” The girl with tattered clothing and dyed bangs asked.

Usami ignored her, “Now then… let the heart-throbbing school trip begin!”

Hajime was overwhelmed, and before he knew it, like a curtain closing on a play, he blacked out.

~~~

_Oh my god._ Mahiru was listening to Usami semi-explain the situation when the boy with the ahoge suddenly collapsed. The lanky boy beside him caught him, but when he didn’t wake up after a minute, Usami told the taller boy to lay him down on the sand while waiting for him to wake up. They all stood around him, a few making bets on when he would wake up, but many just concerned. Especially a girl with violet hair, whom she learned was the Ultimate Nurse. After five minutes of him lying there, they decided it best to explore the island while Usami watched the boy.

They walked off in pairs, briefly introducing themselves with their names, Ultimates, and brief small talk, before parting ways. She ended up walking with the Ultimate Traditional Dancer, Saionji. She watched as a fuschia haired boy, Souda- if she remembered correctly- walked alone since they realized that without the boy with the ahoge there was an odd number of students, and he had not been paired up with. She and Saionji happily chatted as they walked around the island from the beach, familiarizing themselves with the First Island and Central Island. Mahiru ended up making Saionji stop a few times so she could take pictures, but Saionji didn’t seem to mind too much. She found herself accidentally flirting with the small girl a bit at first, but quickly realized that flirting with people you’ve only just met while in a new place where you can’t really avoid each other may not be the best idea. That didn’t, however, stop Saionji from becoming the subject of many of the photos.

Their conversation didn’t really consist of anything that would be considered real, it was simply calm and idle small-talk. Meaningless chatter. But it was pleasant after the storm of chaos that was their arrival on this island. Mahiru spoke about why she wanted to become a photographer, and Saionji listened patiently, before talking about her own family, clearly trying to keep it vague, and getting defensive when asked about it. Mahiru dropped the topic to keep the conversation light.

They parted ways once they had found themselves back at the beach, both seeming a little reluctant, but both too stubborn to ask to stay together. And so, Mahiru watched as Saionji sat down at the ranch, and she walked away to the hotel. There, she saw Nidai and Kuzuryuu, and talked with them for a bit, just going over their discoveries on the two islands presently available to them.

~~~

When they had split up, Fuyuhiko wasted no time claiming Peko as his partner and power walking off, trying to ignore how much shorter her strides were than his own. He knew he was short, but he didn’t like it, so he wasn’t going to think about it. He’s the Ultimate Yakuza for fuck’s sake, so who gives a shit if he was fucking short.

The moment they were out of sight from the others, he brushed his hand against Peko’s and looked at her expectantly, “Yes, Young Master?” she asked him in response.

“I-” he started, then realized he should probably be quieter, so he scoffed and started over, “I’ve told you, just Fuyuhiko is fine…” he took her hand since she hadn’t taken the not-so-subtle hint.

“Yes, Young Ma- ...Fuyuhiko,” she looked a little uncomfortable saying his name, and he would never admit it, but it made him a little disappointed. He considered them friends and had never really liked the girl calling him ‘Young Master,’ but he dealt with it and tried to correct her when he could.

The two walked in silence, not having much to say, seeing as formalities between the two had been gone over years prior, so instead the two walked in comfortable quiet, occasionally overtaken by the young yakuza’s complaining about various things on the islands. He had a bit of a death grip on her hand, mostly out of nervousness, but he somehow let go every time they saw someone else. If anyone saw, the two were both so intimidating no one dared say anything about it.

Peko was… rather oblivious to Fuyuhiko’s romantic advances. It was that, or she was ignoring them in favor of serving him, which unfortunately is probably more likely. Fuyuhiko had decided it was likely for the best, though. He didn’t have time for sappy, lovey-dovey bullshit like being in love, anyway. Finally, after fifteen minutes of nearly breaking the poor swordswoman’s hand with no reciprocation, she hesitantly squeezed. And if Fuyuhiko didn’t have a reputation to uphold, he would have sworn he could have died on the spot.

They approached the hotel when it appeared to be empty, first going to the lobby where they found Nanami messing with some sort of game. Fuyuhiko barely noticed her, but still reluctantly let go of his friend's hand. He scoffed and glanced around the room, Peko did the same. Nanami didn’t even seem to notice when the two of them entered. After a few minutes of walking around the building, including the restaurant on the next floor up. He glanced out the front windows and noticed Nidai had arrived and was sitting near the pool. So with a brief goodbye to Peko we went and joined him.

~~~

Sonia Nevermind took a near-immediate interest in Tanaka. She found him fascinating, so when the opportunity to partner up arose she was quickly drawn to him, not noticing Souda trying to get her attention as she did so. She let Tanaka do most of the talking as they walked. She got to meet and hold the Four Dark Devas of Destruction, showing them all the utmost love and care while doing so. Tanaka smiled softly at the hamsters, in a way that she hadn’t expected, but found pretty cute.

She found his way of speaking intriguing and took great pride in being referred to as ‘The Dark Queen’ by one Supreme Overlord of Ice. If she was being completely honest, she had no idea what he was talking about for most of the conversation, but he looked happy so she just went with it. Eventually, the conversation shifted to her, and although most would want to hear about her status as the Ultimate Princess, Tanaka seemed more eager to hear her speak about her knowledge of serial killers and the occult, to which she happily obliged. It wasn’t often she got to speak about such things without her partner in conversation trying to change the subject.

The two of them seemed to become fast friends, but with Tanaka’s way of speaking it was hard to be sure how he felt about Sonia. They did, however, end up spending a very extensive amount of time at the ranch, Tanaka befriending the animals and helping Sonia do the same, although it seemed they were all naturally drawn to Tanaka so the process was much easier for him. Sonia watched carefully as he handled the animals, she wasn’t sure he was aware of how happy he looked while doing so. His way of doing so definitely earned him his title of Ultimate Breeder, although of course some of it was just natural talent.

After the two left the ranch, it didn’t take long for them to realize they had already seen everything. They agreed to part ways to spend a bit of time with their other classmates before the boy with the ahoge woke up, so they parted ways. Sonia expected him to go back to the ranch, but instead, she was surprised to see him go to the airport. He truly was mysterious. Sonia herself went to the hotel restaurant, however, she found Pekoyama in the lobby and spoke with her for a while. The girl was quiet but seemed to express a liking of fluffy things, which was unexpected from the intimidating girl, but the surprise was more than welcome. Sonia recommended that she ask Tanaka to meet the Devas. Pekoyama responded to the advice with an awkward smile. It didn’t look quite right, but it seemed sincere. They talked for a bit more before Sonia joined Hanamura in the restaurant, which he seemed a bit _too_ happy about.

~~~

It wasn’t that Kazuichi wanted to be alone while exploring the island; it was simply no one had wanted to explore with him. Sure it stung, but it was nothing he wasn’t used to. And yeah, maybe he had wanted high school to be a fresh start for him on the social ladder, but now he realized he was being delusional. He would always just be ‘that freak who likes to fix shit’ and he could live with that. Of course, he’d rather be a cool, popular guy with Miss Sonia as his girlfriend, but the fact that no one seemed to hate him yet was already a major plus.

He had gotten lost in thoughts that were all rather self-deprecating, so much so he forgot to fully pay attention to his surroundings. That was until he noticed large robotic… things in front of many of the gates between islands. He was very tempted to take them apart, but decided it was best not to. They seemed dangerous. Once the excitement of robotics passed, it was back to his thoughts. He was, honestly, kind of grateful for the surprise school trip, sure it was a bizarre occurrence, but how often do you get stuck on an island with people in a situation in which they would struggle to avoid you? Kazuichi was going to milk this trip for all it had to offer. Surely, he’d meet someone who would befriend him by the end of the trip, right?

He didn’t find many other parts of the island interesting, other than the airport. Once he was done walking in meaningless circles around the island, he went there. He hoped it would take his mind off of his self-hatred for a while. And indeed it did. It gave him the chance to force his hatred onto someone else, namely Gundham Tanaka. Or as Kazuichi had chosen to refer to him, the Sonia thief. An hour on the island and he already had a sworn enemy, although the man in question- surprisingly to Kazuichi- did not seem to reciprocate the same hatred. Merely irritation at Kazuichi’s implication that he had ‘stolen Sonia.’ Did Kazuichi know that Sonia had gone to Tanaka first? Yes. But he didn’t care, because he needed someone on this island other than himself to hate, and the breeder was an easy target. Granted, Kazuichi didn’t exactly know what being the Ultimate Breeder entailed, but being the Ultimate heterosexual sounded stupid. _How do you even become the Ultimate Straight Person? And what a rude word for straight person too, isn't that how gay people make fun of straights? Why not just make him the Ultimate Heterosexual, at least that sounded polite._ Yeah, Kazuichi didn’t really get the concept all that well, but he wasn’t going to ask the guy and make himself sound stupid.

He, fairly quickly, decided that his new enemy was not worth his time, and took to disassembling planes. Because, even if he didn’t understand a lot, he understood things with engines. He knew how they worked, and it was what had gotten him into Hope’s Peak Academy in the first place. Unfortunately, Kazuichi’s excitement about the planes was short-lived, not taking long for him to realize the planes were lacking engines.

~~~

Ibuki Mioda was fucking hyped to be on this island. She didn’t know exactly what was going on, but she had the spirit. She was pretty confused, actually, but excited nonetheless. She also decided on her love interest for the trip almost immediately: Mikan Tsumiki. Ibuki began her flirting the second they started walking around the island, and Tsumiki apologized for not being good at conversation in response to Ibuki. She didn’t mind Tsumiki’s constant apologizing, cutting off the conversation, though Ibuki was the type that could be considered… oblivious at best. She just kept talking and dismissing Tsumiki’s apologies.

Ibuki rambled for most of the walk. Tsumiki listened patiently, and if Ibuki pointed anything out that may have been taken even slightly negatively, Tsumiki apologized. Ibuki just said it was fine and kept talking. Tsumiki didn’t say much for most of the time they spent exploring, other than apologies and quick replies to Ibuki’s enthusiastic pointing and yelling enthusiastically at everything they saw. Eventually, Tsumiki’s near-silence began to annoy Ibuki, so she tried asking questions that might interest her, which didn’t really work... until Ibuki mentioned bandages. That, surprisingly to Ibuki, worked.

Tsumiki easily filled the next five minutes talking about bandages passionately, Ibuki wasn’t particularly interested, but she was glad to see Tsumiki excited. Eventually, though, Tsumiki seemed to realize for how long she was talking and apologized profusely, near tears, before returning the question to Ibuki. The horned girl promptly dismissed the apology and answered the question, “Ooh! Ibuki really likes the colorful ones!” she lifted a leg to display a variety of brightly colored bandages, most of which were not covering any injuries. She still smiled proudly, though. She had gotten Tsumiki to talk to her, and that was absolutely worth celebrating.

The two of them ended up back at the market after a while, talking from a few isles apart. Although, like earlier, it was mostly Ibuki talking and Tsumiki quickly replying when it seemed expected of her. She seemed a little less nervous than earlier, though, so Ibuki considered it a successful interaction overall.

~~~

Nekomaru Nidai had always been… enthusiastic, both in sports, shitting, and all other aspects of his life. The heart-throbbing school trip was no exception to his enthusiasm. When presented with the opportunity to explore the island in pairs, Nekomaru took this as an opportunity and challenged Oowari to a race around the island. She was quick to accept this offer, the two of them getting along quickly as the only two people on the island that seemed interested in athletics.

It was a very close match for the two of them, but neither was paying too much attention to who was winning at any point, more high on the competitive spirit. They were both shouting teasing insults at each other, much to the annoyance of anyone they ran past. They ended up with a tie- well, Nekomaru won by about a step, but Oowari insisted they settle on a tie because it was so close.

They very quickly realized that neither had actually taken in what they saw on the island and walked around the island again, actually paying attention that time. They were both walking quite fast though, both being rather tall. Their exploration was put on hold, however, when Oowari discovered that the restaurant had food in it and insisted they stop to eat. Nekomaru willingly agreed, and they made quick conversation with Hanamura, who had been standing around within the restaurant. Hanamura notably did not look at Oowari’s face more than once during their conversation, which Oowari didn't seem to mind too much.

They left not long after they had arrived and went back to exploration. Their food break had put them notably behind the rest of the partnerships, despite their early start. The two were both rather loud and talkative, earning groans from any of the more irritable classmates as they passed. They talked mostly about sports and such and made plans to train together during the trip.

The two of them eventually parted ways once they had decided that they’d seen everything. Oowari went to the ranch where Saionji was waiting Nekomaru had gone back to the hotel. No one was there when he arrived, but it didn’t take long for Kuzuryuu to exit the hotel lobby or for Koizumi to walk through the hotel gates. The three at the hotel talked amicably, although nothing implied the three would become close friends.

~~~

Byakuya wasn’t sure how he felt about the island, to be frank. It was a curious thing, to go from mundane school life to being dropped in the middle of a tropical island with no warning. He had, unfortunately, been paired with Hanamura for the exploration of the island. He hadn’t wanted to make enemies, but Hanamura was making it a difficult feat. What the shorter boy was doing may have been flirting, but it was hard to tell if he was truly interested or just trying to fuck anything that breathed. Byakuya figured it was probably the latter.

Instead of getting caught up on Hanamura being a creep, he instead took it as a chance to educate himself on cooking. It would be a waste to spend time with the Ultimate Cook and learn nothing, after all. He was a pretty fast learner; he had to be to earn his title as an Ultimate, after all. The rest of the island was relatively uneventful, other than Hanamura’s frequent sexual advances- all of which were shut down by the heir. The two of them decidedly had nothing in common, but that didn’t stop Hanamura from attempting conversation. Byakuya replied, politely- he had a reputation to uphold, after all- but that didn’t mean he necessarily enjoyed talking to the cook.

Finally, they fell into a comfortable silence, which was a relief to Byakuya. When he was silent, he didn’t have to keep up an act to maintain an illusion, beyond his posture and mannerisms, anyway. He wasn’t particularly eager to listen to Hanamura’s sexual advances on both himself and anyone they had walked passed, in the first place. He had to admit, the island was nice. Not that he hadn’t seen nicer as the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, but that didn’t take away from the beauty of the island.

The two of them separated after they had seen everything on the island that was currently accessible to them. Well, more accurately, Byakuya forced Hanamura away from him as he walked away to the park on the Central Island, leaving Hanamura in the hotel restaurant. Hanamura had seemed disappointed at first, but he heard an excited gasp from inside as he brushed past Sonia on the stairs. He chuckled and nodded indignantly to himself, in his trademark ‘better than you’ Byakuya fashion.

It relieved him to find himself alone in the park. He could, even if only momentarily, drop the act and be himself. The heir rarely had free time, but when he did, he could finally act like a normal high school student, rather than some stuck up rich kid. He briefly considered dropping the act for the rest of the trip. He could be rich and human, right? He elected to compromise with himself and decided he could tolerate being a bit nicer to his peers. Perhaps he could try it when the boy with the ahoge awoke.

~~~

Nagito hadn’t wanted to leave the boy who collapsed, but everyone encouraged him to explore the island. He went, but he did so reluctantly. He had been paired with Nanami, being promised that he could return to the side of the boy with the ahoge as soon as he had seen the rest of the island. They talked a bit as they walked, Nanami about games and Nagito about hope. The Ultimate Lucky Student doesn’t make for the most interesting stories, but what does is his interest in the Symbols of Hope that are the students of Hope’s Peak Academy. Nagito was… a little too into hope by the standards of the average person. Nanami didn’t seem to be paying attention, but she nodded along as he spoke, and he appreciated that she was at least pretending to care. He didn’t expect her to even pretend to care about anything trash like him had to say.

After the first few minutes, they ran out of conversation topics, which Nagito had been fine with. He didn’t really want to explore in the first place, so he took no issue walking in silence. He did, however, take issue with how slowly Nanami was moving. He was significantly taller than her, which already put a gap in their pace, but even still she was walking irregularly slow. Nagito was particularly curious about the strange robotic… things on the Central Island but decided he could check them out more later. He just wanted to get back to the First Island beach for the time being.

After walking agonizingly slowly- to not abandon Nanami- around the two islands they had access to, he went straight back to the beach to wait for the boy to wake up. He thought he heard Nanami say she was going back to the hotel lobby because there was a game there, but he wasn’t listening particularly closely.

Finally, Nagito was allowed to return to the beach. Even he, himself, wasn’t entirely sure why he wanted to be there when the boy woke up, but he did. And so he would be. Nagito ended up leaning over the boy for a few minutes before he finally began to stir. He tried speaking “Hey… Can you hear me?” the boy seemed to have tried opening his eyes, so Nagito continued talking, “Are you okay?” his eyes were open now, staring at him with adorable curiosity. Nagito paused for a moment, giving him time to adjust, before continuing, “You seem pretty out of it. To be honest, I’m also... No, everyone else feels the same. Since we all got put in this weird situation.” The boy pursed his lips, still staring curiously at Nagito. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay?” he figured he should have gotten some sort of response by now, so the boy’s quietness was a bit concerning.

“Leave me alone,” Nagito wasn’t really expecting it, although he guessed he should have been. He passed out and someone you just met is looming over you and asking you questions? Of course, the boy had perceived Nagito as a creep.

“Th-there’s no way I can leave someone alone who looks so pale…” Nagito gave him another moment to take in the scenery, hoping it would remind him of where he was and what had happened. It seemed to have helped as Nagito watched his face shift through the emotions of remembering.

“The rabbit said... We’re on a tropical island?” Nagito nodded, offering his hand to help the boy up. He hesitated for a moment, before taking the hand and standing up to face him. He turned to one of the many cameras on the island, Nagito and Nanami had assumed they were for security purposes and decided not to think too hard about it.

“So, um, are you feeling alright now?” Nagito asked, "I understand why you're feeling confused after everything that's happened, why don't we start with an introduction?"

The boy tilted his head and echoed, "Introduction?"

Nagito couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "I'll start. My name is Nagito Komaeda; Ultimate Lucky Student. Pretty disappointing talent, huh?" He smiled sadly as he stated his Ultimate.

"Ultimate Lucky Student...?" he asked. Nagito nodded.

"Apparently, Hope's Peak had a country-wide lottery to take in one average student to the school. That student happened to be me," he explained. The boy looked like he was analyzing the statement, likely not in a positive light. _Of course, he thinks I'm disappointing, I'm not a true Ultimate like everyone else here. Why wouldn't he be looking down on me?_ And for the first time since the boy collapsed Nagito considered that it may have been better for someone with a real Ultimate to be the first to be there when the boy woke up. 

"You know, I have mixed feelings on this too. I mean, is luck even really a talent? That's what you were thinking, right? I really am just an average high school student, I never would have made it into Hope's Peak without the lottery, so what makes me worthy of being in the presence of Ultimates like you, right?" Nagito said, looking down at his hand, smiling in a semi-psychotic way. The other boy just looked down in guilt. _Looks like I hit the nail on the head then..._

"At first I declined," the ahoge having boy seemed startled, but whether if it was because he wasn't expecting Nagito to keep talking or by his words he couldn't be sure, "I told them I didn't deserve it, but they wanted me to attend. Apparently, even Hope's Peak doesn't understand the talent of luck. To research it, they pick an Ultimate Luck through a lottery every year. The school truly is incredible if they can research something as vague as luck. Well, thank's to that luck a guy like me could attend Hope's Peak, so for that, I'm grateful." he paused, he realized he was absolutely rambling, but the other didn't seem bothered, so Nagito continued, "However, I must admit I feel a little out of place here. I'm just an average student surrounded by Ultimates, it's a little overwhelming," he was back to staring at his hand as if he could _see_ the averageness of it. He caught the other staring at him apologetically. "Ah, sorry, I tend to be a bit of a pessimist. Anyway, I was rambling, I suppose that's it for my introduction," he finished and looked at the boy expectantly. He didn't expect a two hundred word essay of an introduction from the other boy, but he'd at least like a name and his Ultimate. 

The other boy finally seemed to notice the expectant staring. "Oh, um, I'm Hajime Hinata." It was much shorter than expected, but Nagito figured it was best he didn't follow the precedent he set of introducing himself with a soliloquy. 

He was still curious about one thing, though, "Let me ask you this, Hinata-Kun, what's you're Ultimate?" Hinata hadn't specified, and they were both in attendance of a school for Ultimates, so he figured it was a fair question. 

Nagito had expected a brief answer. A simple statement. 'My Ultimate is [blank].' What he _hadn't_ expected was a long pause. Hinata looked confused, like he had to think really hard about the question. Surely it's something he knew. If one goes to a school for Ultimates, that ability must be something they take pride in and can talk about off the top of their heads. _So then why is he hesitating?_

"Um... I- I think I'm still pretty shaken up about all this. I'm... I'm having trouble remembering my Ultimate talent, sorry." he said. Nagito nodded thoughtfully. It made sense, briefly forgetting. Hinata seemed the most shaken out of the group, so temporary amnesia wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility. 

"I see... Well then, I look forward to finding out once you remember!" He decided to let the subject go because pressing for answers now wouldn't make him remember. It was pointless to bother. So instead he suggested showing him around the island and introducing Hinata to the others. Well, he phrased it like a suggestion, but Hinata didn't really have the option to decline. And so off they went.

~~~

Komaeda decided to take him to the airport first, since it was near the beach and would allow them to finish at Jabberwock Park, passing nothing twice. Hajime didn't fully know what that meant, but he went with it. At the airport, he found the gothic boy with the scarf and the boy with pink hair and shark teeth. He decided to start by talking to the latter. Their conversation was brief, but he learned enough. Kazuichi Souda, Ultimate Mechanic; the planes don't have engines. That was the base summary of their conversation. Talking to the other student was different, but similar in a way. Both of them were very eccentric in a way that Hajime could imagine getting along with, in a strange way. Their conversation was also fairly short. Gundham Tanaka- said very loudly and dramatically- Ultimate Breeder; he has four hamsters he calls the Four Dark Devas of Destruction by the names of Cham-p, Jum-p, San-d, and Maga-Z in his scarf. He claimed the hamsters were a temporary form that they would move on from shortly, but it seemed like total bullshit to Hajime. He was too polite to do anything but nod and agree, though. There wasn't much else of interest within the airport, so he and Komaeda left.

Next to the airport was a market, so they chose to see what was there. Inside was the girl with dyed bangs and horns and the girl with choppy violet hair. He talked to the horned girl first. Well, she talked to him and he decided to be polite. Or rather, he thought she was talking to him, but she was just saying the word 'peeking' over and over while staring at the shelves of the market. But their conversation was... interesting. She was very enthusiastic and skeptical of everything. She seemed nice enough, but Hajime didn't see himself being close friends with her. Ibuki Mioda, Ultimate Musician; left her band due to 'creative differences.' The other girl was even worse, but he was polite, nonetheless. She seemed sweet, but she kept apologizing and crying. Hajime was sure she had valid reasons for this, but he had to admit it was a little annoying. And Komaeda accusing him of bullying girls when she started crying didn't help. Mikan Tsumiki, Ultimate Nurse; seemingly concerned that all of her friends on the island are going to get injured and die. Decidedly done in Rocketpunch Market, he and Komaeda left.

They next walked to the hotel, which was much bigger than anything else on the island than anything else they had seen, and was much nicer than Hajime had been expecting. They had been told that the island was uninhabited, but even the area near the pool and cottages was well maintained, as if there was a regular cleaning crew or something of the like, though as far as they had been told there was nothing of the sort. He looked away from the cottages and towards the pool to see the bodybuilder-esque man, the girl with red hair and a camera, and the short strawberry-blond hair. The three of them were all standing alone in the outdoor area of the pool, but they were all snickering to themselves, and the girl and the short boy were still walking a bit, so he assumed the three of them had been talking.

He decided to start with the red-haired girl, because- at least amongst the group- she seemed the kindest. But her behavior within the group seemed to be no indicator of her behavior, however, because now she was defensive and seemed to assume that Hajime was going to try to assault her. She was still being polite, just... a little more cautious than she needed to be, for a valid reason. But Hajime wasn't about to come out to Koizumi during his first conversation with her, so he'll just endure it. Mahiru Koizumi, Ultimate Photographer; cautious of men. He tried to talk to the blond boy next. He seemed much less approachable than the other man, but he was closer to Hajime and after sprinting across the island, he'd like to do as little walking as possible. The conversation with him went about as well as expected with the short boy. He was rude and seemed constantly pissed, but Komaeda filled in the gaps when needed. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, Ultimate Yakuza; heir to the largest criminal syndicate in Japan. And finally, he approached the buff man. He seemed kind enough, loud, but polite. He yelled at Hajime to be more confident in his introduction, but Hajime thought him a good person, even if a little over-enthusiastic. Nekomaru Nidai, Ultimate Team Manager; seems a little too into taking shits. 

Hajime and Komaeda walked away from the outdoor area and into the hotel lobby, where they found the girl with silver twin braids and the short girl with bobbed hair and a pixel hair clip. He started with the former since the latter was preoccupied with a video game. The girl with the swords gave a clipped and overly formal introduction. Komaeda did most of the introducing for her, but Hajime got the vibe she was just a little awkward, rather than intentionally making the situation tenser than it needed to be. Peko Pekoyama, Ultimate Swordswoman; such a skilled kendo master most grown men won't even face her. He reluctantly walked to the other side of the lobby to talk to the other girl; he felt bad about disturbing her, but he didn't want to have to come back to the hotel lobby just to meet her. The start of their conversation was mostly just Hajime talking at her while she brushed him off or just flat out ignored him, but eventually, Komaeda got her attention. Granted, she seemed impatient to get back to her game for their entire conversation, but at least he had introduced himself. Chiaki Nanami, Ultimate Gamer; likes all games, even crappy ones.

Komaeda then shuffled the two of them up the stairs to the restaurant to meet the girl with long blonde hair and the boy with a chef's outfit. The two were discussing something about the girl sucking poison out of his loins, and she had readily agreed. Hajime wasn't usually one to slut-shame, but they had only just met that day. He started by introducing himself to the girl, to try to see if he could figure out her motivation for agreeing to such a thing. Unfortunately, she didn't mention it; still, Hajime learned a bit about her. Sonia Nevermind, Ultimate Princess; princess of the small European kingdom of Novoselic. Hajime did get answers when talking to the boy, however. Apparently, she was just unaware of his implications and assumed he had meant actual poison in real meat. Hajime assumed Japanese wasn't her first language, so it made sense that the implications might fly over her head. He learned a bit about the chef, though. Teruteru Hanamura, Ultimate Cook; into 'big city flavor' (and a total pervert.) He and Komaeda decided it best to leave once their misunderstanding had been sorted.

It didn't take the pair long to reach the ranch from the hotel. There, there was a petite blond girl killing ants and a tan girl with an ahoge standing near some chickens. Hajime took notice of a sign with the words Usami Corral written on it, and with perfect timing, as he finished reading the sign, Usami herself appeared. She explained that she could appear anywhere at any time, and she turned the chickens near the taller girl into cows with her 'magic stick' and usually Hajime would freak out, but this trip was already so damn weird he thought it best to just leave it be. Usami left not long after her strange display and speech, confusing everyone at the ranch. Hajime started talking to the girl killing ants first. She seemed meaner than the other girl, but she was much closer to the entrance than the other girl. She was just yelling the word squish over and over again while she crushed the "Mr. Ants," because apparently they made a cool sound, but Hajime couldn't hear it. Hiyoko Saionji, Ultimate Traditional Dancer; likes 'squish squish,' as she calls it. He made his way further back into the ranch after his conversation with Saionji to introduce himself to the other girl. She apparently didn't remember meeting Komaeda, claiming she was bad with faces, and Hajime would be lying to say he didn't have to stifle a bit of a laugh at that. She was loud and enthusiastic, reminding Hajime somewhat of Nidai, but Komaeda still had to fill in some gaps in information that it seems she forgot to mention. Akane Oowari, Ultimate Gymnast; according to Komaeda, her basic skills in gymnastics are all over the place, so her routines are mostly improvised. Hajime didn't see himself getting along well with either girl, but he supposed it was unreasonable to assume he could be best friends with everyone in his class. _Ultimates or not, this is still high school._

They stepped away from the ranch and moved on a bit, Hajime discovering that they had seen all there was to see on the First Island, so he allowed Komaeda to lead him to the Central Island. It was only then he realized that even after his soliloquy of an introduction he still barely knew Komaeda, so he tried to start some small talk on the way. He probably got more out of the small talk than he did Komaeda's entire speech earlier, learning that they both had very similar reasons for attending Hope's Peak; Hajime admiring the school and the hope it inspired, and Komaeda admiring hope as a concept. Then, their pleasant small talk about the school devolved into one of the hope speeches that Komaeda would later become infamous for. Hajime listened patiently, though, until they reached Jabberwock Park. The park was pleasant, with aesthetically pleasing plants, and a decorative bronze statue in the center. Sitting near the statue was the man in the white suit, whom Hajime had remembered from him seemingly taking charge of the group when they were still in the classroom. Hajime walked a bit closer to him, hoping it would indicate to the man he was interested in a conversation, but the man just ignored him. Hence, Komaeda started the conversation, if it could even be called that. The man only did as he was asked and introduced himself, Komaeda providing any information beyond his name and Ultimate talent. From what Komaeda had told him, this guy was special even among Ultimates. Byakuya Togami, Ultimate Affluent Progeny; even as just a first year, he's heir to the Togami conglomerate. He has a four billion yen net worth just on his own. 

This guy was intimidating. Hajime heard a quiet _ding_ from his pocket. He had felt the weight in his pocket, but he assumed it was just his cell phone. However, now that he thought about it, it felt a little wider and thinner than his usual phone. He reached into his pockets and fished it out; if he thought about it he could recall hearing it ding about fourteen other times, but everything was so overwhelming he hadn't considered it at the time. "Oh, I suppose I forgot to tell you about that, heh," Komaeda said, rubbing the back of his neck a little apologetically. Hajime looked at him curiously, then glanced back to the device in his hands when Komaeda met his eyes. "That's your E-Handbook, it has everyone's report cards and the trip's regulations in it." Hajime nodded in acknowledgment, and as if on queue it flashed to life, displaying the name Hajime Hinata and transitioning into a menu screen. To the right was a map. Beside it was a button titled Report Cards, and next to it to the left was another labeled Trip Regulations. Just as Komaeda had said. He clicked on the report card section, glancing at the pixelated images of all his new peers. He could see their likes and dislikes, as well as information about their physique he didn't understand why he needed to know, such as exactly how tall they were or the size of their chest. However, he took most interest in the incomplete image of something star-like, with one crystal point of it filled it.

"Komaeda?" he looked up from the handbook to meet Komaeda's eyes once again. Komaeda looked at him curiously and stepped from in front of Hajime, facing him to behind him, peering over his shoulder. "I was wondering what this is," Hajime explained, pointing at the graphic. Komaeda furrowed his brows for a moment, considering the question.

"Ah, those are called Hope Fragments, apparently. Usami told us that if we gather all of them from all of our classmates, we can leave this island."

Hajime's face lit up at the prospect of leaving the island, "how do we gather them then?"

"By befriending our peers, that's probably why you already have one from each of us, since you've met everyone now." Hajime nodded, allowing a beat in the conversation. Hajime closed the tab and opened the regulations tab. He and Komaeda both read over them, letting a comfortable silence fall over the park as they read.

_1\. Extreme violence is strictly prohibited on this Island. Please live **peaceful** and **relaxing** lives with your fellow students._

_2\. Be considerate of each other and work to obtain **Hope Fragments.**_

_3\. Littering is not allowed. Let us coexist with this island's bountiful nature in "mutual prosperity."_

_4\. The lead teacher cannot directly interfere with any of the students. An exception to this rule is made if any students break a rule._

They both looked up at each other to signify having finished reading. Hajime opened his mouth to begin speaking until he was cut off by a sound.

_Ding dong bing bong_. The three in the park looked around for the source of the sound, all walking around the park in no particular direction.

"Was that the school bell, just now?" Hajime asked hesitantly. Komaeda didn't look at him, his eyes were fixed on something on the other side of the park. He hadn't been expecting Togami to look at him, and he did not. 

"Hinata-Kun, look at this monitor here," Komaeda said, waving him over. Hajime obeyed and walked to Komaeda's side. The screen flickered to life, Usami appearing on the screen.

"Congratulations! It appears everyone has finished collecting the first Hope Fragments! I'm," she paused and sniffled, "so happy! And I have a very special surprise for everyone as a reward! I apologize for the inconvenience, but will Class 77 please gather on the beach!" the screen turned off and the students on the island were left to their own devices once again.

"I suppose we should return to the beach then," Togami said, power walking away from Komaeda and Hajime until they were alone on the beach. Hajime rocked back and forth on his feet, waiting for Komaeda to speak or just start walking. But Komaeda never spoke or moved forward, just looked expectantly at Hajime.

"So, uh, I suppose we should head to the beach then, Komaeda-Kun," Hajime said, semi-awkwardly. Komaeda nodded and started walking, Hajime walking alongside him. Hajime hoped he remembered where the beach was, but mainly focused on staying next to Komaeda. At least he wouldn't get lost that way. The two made it quickly, yet cautiously, across the bridge and turned a sharp left onto the beach.

"You're fuckin late," Kuzuryuu grumbled, he was clearly annoyed, but Hajime didn't take it personally, from what he had seen, it was just how he was. 

"Oh, was there a time limit in the announcement we missed?" Komaeda asked. There wasn't, and he knew Komaeda knew that, but he wasn't saying it impolitely.

"Well, no, but..." he trailed off. He knew he had lost, but it was clear he wouldn't just accept defeat. Pekoyama gently consoled the short boy. Either those two bonded fast or they had met previously, Hajime assumed it was the latter. The group chose to go over what they learned about the island as they waited for Usami to arrive on the beach. Most of the group's interests on the island related to their Ultimate talent, but it seemed nobody noticed anything that another pairing may have missed. That was until Togami realized something he referred to as "the most serious truth," the true identity of the island; Jabberwock Island. It was confusing, but they didn't really get to analyze it because Usami appeared and cut off their conversation.

"Excuse me! I've got your gifts right here!" she said, holding out a bunch of small Usami keychains. Komaeda was the only one to reach for one of the keychains. 

"What are these?" he asked her, examining it in his hand.

Usami giggled, "It's and Usami Strap! If you squeeze its tummy it says," she squeezed the one in Komaeda's hand, "I'm Usami, Magical Miracle Girl Usami and I'm sweet like milk." Usami said the words in time with the toy. Hajime wondered if she had rehearsed that ahead of time. "Isn't it cute? Love! Love!" she cheered. The students were unimpressed.

"What a waste of time," Togami said, many others nodding in agreement. Hanamura clenched one in his fist, as if trying to break it. Instead, all he got was an annoying loop of the phrase 'I'm Usami!' Nidai had easily crushed his own, and Hajime couldn't tell if the look Hanamura was giving Nidai was impressment or arousal. From what he had seen of the cook thus far, either was a possibility. Saionji and Kuzuryuu were both getting ready to chuck theirs into the ocean but were cut off by Usami shrieking.

"Wait! If you throw them in the ocean, then that's littering! Littering violates the third rule of the Heart-Throbbing school trip!" 

The short blonds reluctantly lowered their arms, Kuzuryuu angrily shoving it in his pocket and Saionji pouting at Koizumi. "I'm truly ashamed," started Tanaka, "and to think I had been hopeful for such a gift. Tch, I had been so foolish." Hajime was pretty sure he knew what that meant, but he couldn't be sure. Tanaka was... certainly a character.

"Really? I think they're pretty cute! Especially the little rabbit ears!" Nanami chimed. She seemed to be the only student enjoying the gift. Sonia was the only other one who may have been considered to be enjoying it, but even then it could better be described as 'not completely outraged by' than 'enjoying.'

"Well, Usami _does_ mean rabbit after all!" Usami replied to Nanami. Regardless of Usami's warning about litter, even Hajime found himself dropping it into the sand along with everyone else, except Nanami, as soon as Usami turned her back. It appeared Mioda had also kept hold of hers.

"Hey! You can't taint nature with trash!" Mioda yelled at the group. 

"See, even you think they're trash Mioda-san!" Usami yelled, though it was more similar to a whine if Hajime thought about it. Mioda tried to interrupt, but the teacher continued regardless. "I even had a second surprise for you, but you've all been so ungrateful now I don't want to give it to you!" _That's very unprofessional, not to mention petty..._ Hajime thought. Even so, everyone grumbled and picked up their trash, hoping that if they followed the rules Usami would reveal whatever this other surprise was. 

"Well, it isn't that big of a deal compared to the Usami strap, but... I've prepared a motive for everyone!" she declared.

"A motive?" Nanami asked.

"That's right! A motive for everyone to get along!"

"Oh?" Togami asked.

"Ooooh! Are we having a party?" Mioda shouted enthusiastically. This caused a few students to perk up, but those that seemed to be more antisocial like Tanaka, Kuzuryu, and Pekoyama- among others- seemed annoyed.

"That's right!" 

"Is it a festival? Or maybe a miniature shrine? How wonderful!" Sonia's eyes were sparkling.

"If we're talkin' about parties on a tropical island, maybe we should have a barbeque or somethin'?" Souda asked.

"A bonfire sounds good too!" Koizumi added.

"Let's find a hoop snake and kill it!" Saionji yelled.

Souda gawked at her, "Is looking for one not enough for you?"

Usami made a 'settle down' motion with her hands(?) "It seems everyone has different ideas, but if we're out by the ocean, then first...." she pulled out a white drawstring bag, "This is what it's all about!" she put the bag down. 

Sonia cautiously walked over to the bag and peered inside, "A swimming bag?"

"That's right! Love, love! I've prepared bathing suits for all of you! Well, school bathing suits, actually, I hope that's alright for everyone!"

Komaeda reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of black swim trunks, holding them up so the group could see, "Are you telling us to go swimming?" 

"Th-there's no way anyone could be careless enough to go swimming in a situation like this!" Hajime cried. Well, so he thought.

"Yahoo!" Mioda called, ripping a black one-piece swimsuit from the bag.

"I agree," Hanamura said, "even my loins agree," he winked. Everyone else rolled their eyes, already growing a bit tired of him. 

"How long has it been since I swam in the sea?" Koizumi mused aloud.

Nidai reached into the bag and pulled out a scrap of fabric, "Alright! Let's change!" the team manager yelled. Those who were interested in swimming enthusiastically grabbed swimsuits and ran off to change at the hotel. Komaeda was the only one who seemed enthusiastic who had stayed.

He lingered for a moment, "What are you going to do, Hinata-kun?" Hajime didn't answer, he just looked up at the sky. "I understand, I won't make you do anything you don't want to," he reached into the bag and lightly tossed a pair of swim trunks at Hajime, "But if you're up to it, I'd be happy if you joined us." He handed the bag back to Usami and jogged off to join the others. 

Hajime watched him run before turning back to the sky _There hasn't been any danger since we got here... The island is safe, there's nothing tragic waiting to happen... Is that true..?_ He bit the inside of his cheek _if that's true... am I actually wrong?_ He looked around, noticing Nanami, Togami, Kuzuryuu, Oowari, and Saionji still standing on the beach. 

"You're not going to swim?" he asked. 

"Nah, it's more fun to crush crabs on the beach!" Saionji yelled. _Geez, what a sadist..._ Hajime grimaced. 

His gaze turned to Oowari, he was surprised to see that she was still there, "You aren't going to swim, Oowari-san?" 

"Huh? Of course I am, why do you ask?"

"Oh, then why didn't you go change with the others?"

"I don't need to change. All I gotta do is take off my clothes!"

Hajime felt his cheeks color and nervously grabbed his tie, "Er, no... What about your swimsuit, Oowari-san."

"Pfft- There's no way I'm gonna wear somethin' as embarrassin' as a school swimsuit! So... Let's just hurry up and swim!"

She started unbuttoning her shirt, and Hajime threw his hands over his eyes. The rest of the students did the same. _How is she not embarrassed?_

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Usami yelled, "Shameful behavior like that is a big no-no! If you're going to swim, you've got to wear a swimsuit!"

"Tch! What a pain in the ass..." Oowari grumbled, re-buttoning her top. Everyone sighed in relief. 

"Phew, that was close!" Usami said.

Hajime turned to Togami, given the conversation with the others he figured a simple, "You?" would be sufficient.

"I will never, ever, wear a swimsuit so long as I live." He didn't say anything else, so Hajime moved on.

He turned to ask Nanami, but she was comically dozing upright, with her chin resting in her hand. He chuckled to himself for a moment, before looking at Kuzuryuu.

"Don't talk to me. Swimming blows, but talking to you is even more annoying. Mind your damn business..." 

_Yeesh, how blunt._

"It appears everyone has returned!" Usami cheered.

Souda and Mioda were both whooping and cheering whilst splashing each other. The two were, no doubt, some of the most enthusiastic members of Class 77. Not everyone was matching their energy, however. Tsumiki was gently wading ankle-deep, as Sonia gently stepped into the water with an elegance that was to be expected from the Ultimate Princess. Tanaka was... building a sandcastle...? Hajime hadn't expected the brooding breeder to be interested in that sort of thing, but it soon made sense as the four hamsters in his scarf- which he kept on, for some reason- and onto the castle. Tanaka smiled proudly at his pets as they scurried about on the castle. 

Hanamura was trying to get at least one of the girls to let him put sunscreen on them, but thankfully Nidai stepped in to take the offer, taking the attention off the girls. Unfortunately, Hanamura seemed just as pleased to assist Nidai as he likely would have if someone like Oowari had taken the offer. Pekoyama was barely visible on the horizon, trying to swim laps around the island. Kuzuryuu was watching her from the shoreline, but it seemed he was trying to make it look like he wasn't paying her any mind. Nanami was still asleep on the beach, which was an impressive feat considering all the noise. Komaeda and Koizumi were both just standing in the water. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, but they were certainly less active than some of their other peers. Saionji had done exactly as she said she would and killed crabs on the beach, much to the outrage of Tanaka. Togami was sitting on the sand, leaning against a tree, looking a bit ridiculous, still wearing his white suit. Hajime took off his so as not to look completely stupid and sat on the sand near the ocean. He had always enjoyed people watching, and he still didn't fully trust the situation.

 _It almost feels like a resort, seeing everyone out enjoying themselves like this..._

"Yep, yep! I'm feeling very happy! Everyone seems to be getting along together, so I'm very happy! I thought it would be hard for everyone to get used to at first, but so far everyone is behaving like Ultimates!" Usami pumped one of her fists as she sets her Magical Stick beside her on the sand. "I can already tell that this is going to be an amazing Heart-Throbbing School Trip!" _What is this feeling of...alienation? Am I really... wrong about all this?_ Hajime had made his choice.

"I'm going to do it!" he declared, clutching the shorts that Komaeda had tossed to him earlier and jogging off. He was turned away from the ocean so he couldn't see, but Komaeda smiled softly at him as he did so. He hadn't checked which cottage was his yet, but he wanted to get back to the beach as soon as possible, so he chose to change in the hotel lobby. He knew he wouldn't run into anyone, since they were all on the beach, so he thought it safe to just change in the middle of the room. He did so quickly and jogged back to the beach. 

He re-arrived on the beach and slowly waded into the ocean, joining Komaeda. "Hey, I see you've changed your mind," Komaeda said with a small chuckle. Hajime smiled warmly in response.

"Haha, yeah," Hajime felt lighter than he had since they arrived. He had finally deemed the island safe and allowed himself to relax, and enjoy his time with his peers. Everyone was having a good time, even those who weren't in the ocean. The cheerful banter and laughing on the beach only grew louder as the day went on. They hardly noticed when the sky grew dark, as the weather barely got colder. Finally, the monitor on the beach flickered to life.

" _Hello everyone! It's ten pm, which means it's officially night time! Please return to your cottages! Goodnight!"_

The recording of Usami turned off, and the group turned to her for instruction, but it seemed she had already disappeared somewhere. They were left to turn to each other for instruction. 

"It's later than I thought," Hajime thought out loud, "I suppose we should get to our cottages then..." 

"Aww man..." Oowari grumbled to herself, walking out of the ocean and across the sand to grab her clothes. She had apparently changed in her cottage and made it back to the beach in the time it took Hajime to change in the hotel lobby. It made sense to him, though. She was much more athletic, and the cottages were closer to the beach than the hotel was. 

The rest of the group followed suit and emerged from the water to grab their clothing and return to the hotel. Those who hadn't ended up swimming stood to dust the sand off of their clothes and walked with the group. They made small talk as they walked to the cottages, continuing to get to know each other until they reached the hotel gate. Komaeda was the first to reach it, so he stood and held it open for the group until Hajime passed through it last.

"Thank you, Komaeda-kun."

Komaeda nodded in acknowledgment and walked with Hajime to stand with the group. They all said their, mostly, pleasant goodbyes before splitting up to find their respective cottages. Hajime found his quickly, as it wasn't far off from the main path. It unlocked easily, Hajime finding yet another use for his E-Handbook. He realized as he stepped in that this was his first time within the cottage. It was simple, a bed and TV on one side, and on the other was a sitting space and some sort of display shelf. The bathroom was on the same wall as the shelf, but the clear door threw him off a bit. There was yet another monitor and camera, but he tried to ignore it. So far, the island had proven to be safe. He would trust that it was just Usami monitoring her students for their safety. 

He figured, since he had been in the ocean, a shower would probably be for his benefit. He slowly undressed, a bit hesitant because of the cameras, but it had to be done, and he stepped into the bathroom and then into the shower. Luckily, the room had come with full-sized soaps rather than the travel-size usually found in hotels, since none of the students had been given the chance to pack for the trip. Hajime typically would have grabbed three in one soap for efficiency, but he could settle for the individual products. They were nicer than what he would have used, anyway. He used the shower as an opportunity to reflect on the day. His first day as a Hope's Peak Academy first year. It had been nothing like what he had expected, but it wasn't unpleasant.

 _I really had been wrong. This island really is safe. Why was I so skeptical? It really is just a school trip._ He combed his fingers through his hair, flattening his ahoge even more than the water already had. It dawned on him just how exhausted he truly was as he leaned into the warm water. The day had been so busy and the latter half had been so pleasant he hadn't realized how much time had passed, but if he thought about it now, it had probably been fourteen or fifteen hours since he had stood in front of Hope's Peak.

He rushed through the rest of his shower, eager to get to bed. He wasn't sure he was talented enough in the Art of Falling Asleep in Situations That it Definitely is Not Appropriate to be Asleep in to the degree Nanami was, and he didn't trust his odds falling asleep standing in the shower. He was used to getting out of the shower to feel cool air, but instead, he was delightfully surprised by the warm, tropical breeze of the island. He flicked the light off, deciding that since he was the only one- other than maybe Usami- with the ability to enter the room that there wasn't a particular need to wear clothes to bed. Letting the exhaustion to continue washing over himself, Hajime fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I know for part one of a prologue it's insanely long (31-page pdf, actually) but thanks for sticking with it. This chapter was mostly to establish character relationships, but I pinky promise we'll get into the action in the next chapter. 
> 
> In the meantime, follow me on Tumblr or TikTok(washerandbriar) if you want, I always love community interaction. Thank you again!


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